Orchestral Work Revised

I have heard some of the suggestions here regarding my orchestral work in D minor. I have revised and changed a few things. Those of you who said that the oboe would be lost in the strings I have added two more oboes to the score.

Here's the score:

let's just get one detail about orchestration out in the open:

two of an instrument are not twice as loud as one of that instrument.

likewise, three of an instrument are not three times louder nor more prominant than one of an instrument.

So the unison doubling of three oboes will NOT make the oboes sound more clearly over the rest of the instruments in your score. That's not an opinion nor a "rule of orchestration" from some dried out old academic... it's a reality of accoustics.

The only thing that could save your piece would be the addition of woodwinds by twos, with OCTAVE doublings in the correct registers and in the correct accoustic densities. Even unison and octave doublings will not help as much as carefully planed (not "planned", but "planed") layering of the woodwinds, in harmony (3rds, 6ths, 5ths, whatever).

By the way, you have a few errors in your score - some octaves for third oboe as well as the tuba.

let's just get one detail about orchestration out in the open:

two of an instrument are not twice as loud as one of that instrument.

likewise, three of an instrument are not three times louder nor more prominant than one of an instrument.

So the unison doubling of three oboes will NOT make the oboes sound more clearly over the rest of the instruments in your score. That's not an opinion nor a "rule of orchestration" from some dried out old academic... it's a reality of accoustics.

The only thing that could save your piece would be the addition of woodwinds by twos, with OCTAVE doublings in the correct registers and in the correct accoustic densities. Even unison and octave doublings will not help as much as carefully planed (not "planned", but "planed") layering of the woodwinds, in harmony (3rds, 6ths, 5ths, whatever).

By the way, you have a few errors in your score - some octaves for third oboe as well as the tuba.

Cant oboes and tubas play octaves?

Cowboy, I have a problem with adding other woodwinds, I need the color of the oboe. Any suggestions?

And how can it be that the addition of two other oboes would not inhance the overall sound and color of the oboes?

a woodwind instrument can not, by itself, play two notes at the same time.

this is what you are asking the oboe and tuba to do.

you say the score is for 3 oboes, yet there are at times four notes for oboe to be played at once. this means either you expect to have FOUR oboes, or are you unaware that an oboe can not play two notes simultaneously? Likewise for the tuba.

The oboe, in particular, is an instrument whose tone colour is difficult to work with. This is partially due to the specific accoustical properties of the instrument (it is extremely rich in overtones... not necessarily a quality). Multiple oboes playing simultaneously the same notes will, through an accoustical effect, eliminate each other's overtones rather than enhance them. The effect will be of a muffled, out of tune bagpipe rather than a larger oboe sound.

aight, off we go to add other instruments...

Thanks cowboy.

...The effect will be of a muffled, out of tune bagpipe rather than a larger oboe sound.

Oh horror of horrors!! :horrified:

Actually, I think this piece could be done quite effectively without adding instruments, but rather, taking the instruments away. What you have here is a simple, but overall pretty oboe solo (played, for some reason, by 3 oboes). You then have the piano and the strings basically trading off for attention, but the piano seems to be winning out as far as interest goes. The timpani and tuba add nothing to this piece, neither to much of the strings.

Therefore, I suggest you can the idea for orchestra on this piece and reduce it to piano and oboe. If you do, you will have a most effective piece. The problem is, you would have to add so many more colors and subthemes to make this piece work as an orchestral piece. When really, if you wanted to make this piece work, you need only to strike the string section, put it all in the piano. Take the melody out of the piano, and give it exclusively to the oboe, and then just add more ornaments and techniques to the oboe to make it more challenging. I think if you do that, you'll have a very nice oboe/piano duet.

Uhm, nice theme - reminded me of some other piece (:horrified:)

Well, about the unisoned woodwinds and that they are monophonic will just be redundant commenting, since QC already mentioned it.

What I lacked was a variation of your old motives/themes; I got the feeling that you just thought 'Yes, I've written a bit just smoothen the transition and then loop it, to make it a bit longer.' Variate the looped part and the piece will have an uplift.

The timpani and tuba add nothing to this piece, neither to much of the strings.

Very true. I didn't find it's 'purpose'.

:pinch: Darn.. you guys confused me...